Moat Mount Open Space is a 110-hectare park and nature reserve in

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18,45 ...

in the

London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London borough in North London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It forms part of Outer London and is the largest London boroug ...

. It is part of Moat Mount Open Space and Mote End Farm Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade II, which includes Barnet Gate Wood and Scratchwood Countryside Park, but is separate from Scratchwood itself, which is a neighbouring park and nature reserve. Most of the site is open to the public, but Mote End Farm and some other areas are private. Scratchwood and Moat Mount are a Local Nature Reserve.

The site

Moat Mount is a large, hilly open space with extensive views from the top of the hill. Most of it lies over

London Clay The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 56–49 million years ago) age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from t ...

. Much of the Countryside Park is grassland, which has a diversity of wild flowers and many butterflies. The Park also has Leg of Mutton pond and several small woods, such as Target Wood and Nut Wood. Moat Mount also includes Moat Mount Outdoor Centre and Campsite, which has a range of activities for local schools and youth organisations. The

Dollis Brook Dollis Brook runs through the London Borough of Barnet in north London. It is a tributary of the River Brent, which is itself a tributary of the River Thames. The Dollis Valley Greenwalk follows almost all of Dollis Brook, apart from a short sec ...

rises on Mote End Farm. The site was once owned by

Irwin Cox (Irwin) Edward Bainbridge Cox, JP, DL, who used the pen-name I.E.B.C. (9 July 1838 – 27 August 1922) was a British Barrister, magazine proprietor and politician. He served as a Unionist Member of Parliament for Harrow at the beginning of the ...

, the Conservative MP for Harrow from 1899 to 1906.

Access

The main entrance to the site is the permanently closed Moat Mount car park in the Countryside Park on the southbound lane of Barnet Way, a dual carriageway section of the A1, between Stirling Corner and

Apex Corner The A1 in London is the southern part of the A1 road. It starts at Aldersgate in the City of London, passing through the capital to Borehamwood on the northern fringe of Greater London, before continuing to Edinburgh. The road travels thro ...

. There are also entrances to the reserve from the back of

Mill Hill County High School Mill Hill County High School is a large secondary school with academy status located in Mill Hill, London, England. It was the first comprehensive school in the United Kingdom to have had a student accepted on the Morehead-Cain merit scholars ...

, Barnet Road (near Stirling Corner), from Hendon Wood Lane along the route of the Greenwalk and the Loop, and from Bedford Road. The

Dollis Valley Greenwalk The Dollis Valley Greenwalk (or Green Walk) is a footpath route in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England, between Moat Mount Nature Reserve in Mill Hill and Hampstead Heath. The route is designed to act as a link between the Capita ...

starts at the car park, and the

London Loop The London Outer Orbital Path — more usually the "London LOOP" — is a 150-mile (242 km) signed walk along public footpaths, and through parks, woods and fields around the edge of Outer London, England, described as "the M25 ...

goes through the reserve. Scratchwood is on the other side of Barnet Way, with access by an underpass at Courtland Avenue.

Bruno's Field

Bruno's Field is a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade II, at Grid Ref , south of Moat Mount between Worcester Crescent and Marsh Lane. In the mid nineteenth century the field was part of the park of Highfield House, which was then owned by Lady Raffles, the widow of

Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He i ...

. Most of it is now used as pasture for cattle from the

Royal Veterinary College , mottoeng = Confront disease at onset , established = (became a constituent part of University of London in 1949) , endowment = £10.5 million (2021) , budget = £106.0 million (20 ...

. It has a varied topography with a pond and small streams in boggy areas, while grass areas have typical pasture herbs. Some of the oldest oaks mark eighteenth century field boundaries. The field is private land and there is no public access.Hewlett, p. 72

Gallery

File:Leg of Mutton Pond.JPG, Leg of Mutton Pond File:Moat Mount view.JPG, View from footpath to Barnet Road File:Moat Mount Nut Wood.JPG, Nut Wood near Leg of Mutton Pond File:Moat Mount horses.JPG, Fields on Mote End Farm are used to keep horses for its livery stables

Notes

{{LNRs in Greater London Local nature reserves in Greater London Nature reserves in the London Borough of Barnet Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Barnet

The site

Access

Bruno's Field

Gallery

See also

Notes